Southwest Wolves in the News

Smaller and lighter than their cousins in the Northern Rockies, only 50 Mexican wolves survive in the Southwest.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission’s Dec. 2 decision to withhold support for new lobo releases in Ariz. kicked up a flurry of news stories over the weekend. Checkout some of the coverage featuring interviews with Defenders’ Mexican gray wolf expert, Eva Sargent.

Associated Press correspondent Susan Montoya Bryan filed a fascinating report from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, where Mexican wolves reared in captivity await release into the wild. According to Eva, releases of new wolves into the wild will help to  strengthen the population’s gene pool and better the chances of recovery.

The Albuquerque Journal also reported on this commission’s decision over the weekend, landing an interesting interview with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson, Charna Lofton, who underscored the need more wolves on the ground: “‘We recognize that the (Arizona) Commission has a different view from ours with respect to the release of wolves. But given the low number of wolves in the wild, we believe it’s necessary for wolf recovery… We do need to get more wolves on the ground, that’s the bottom line,'” the Journal reported.